What's Buzzing

Greg Wyshynski

Like

0

Follow

0

Author

Greg Wyshynski is the editor of Puck Daddy. A former managing sports editor for The Connection Newspapers, he's written for Deadspin, AOL Sports and is the author of "Glow Pucks & 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History." Born and bred in New Jersey, living in Northern Virginia. Did we mention he likes booze?

WWE superstar and hardcore legend Rob Van Dam visited the Buffalo Sabres dressing room this week, ahead of this weekend’s PPV event in Buffalo. The Sabres had a chance to interview him, so naturally they opted for the biggest heel on the roster.

Here’s Patrick Kaleta interviewing a pink-shirted, not all that lucid Rob Van Dam, because evidently we all ate mushrooms this morning:

Kaleta’s winking “sometimes I very much like to [go hardcore] on the ice sometimes too” was glorious. And when he said he wouldn’t be fighting in tonight’s game against Ottawa “or else I’ll be out for a little while”, what was he getting at?

But without question, the highlight of this video is when RVD says “being a fighter is a part of being a hockey player” to Pat Kaleta – noted cheap-shot artist, rare fighter – who responds “well, sometimes.”

Clearly RVD doesn’t realize that if Kaleta was in the squared circle with him, he’d be in the corner, begging for mercy before hitting Van Dam with a chair when he

There are things that nominees for public office can stretch the truth about with no consequence. But if you’re a nominee for the Supreme Court in Canada, best not stretch the truth about being drafted by an NHL team.

Marc Nadon, selected by Stephen Harper for the Court, told a Parliamentary committee on Wednesday that he was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings.

That, in itself, sounds a little sketchy; that he claimed it was when he was 14 years old … well, he might as well just add “and I invented Post-It notes” because we’re in the town’s square of Fibbersville.

"During my youth, my ambition in life was to become a hockey player, which may seem surprising looking at me but those days were different. In fact, I was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings when I was 14," he said.

170893138As a defenseman, Dennis Seidenberg understands the benefit of security. A 4-year, $16-million deal with the Boston Bruins with a no-trade clause, per Darren Dreger, provides that for the veteran in his last contract year.

He would have fetched more as a UFA next summer, no question. But he may not have gotten money, term and a no-trade clause on a contract that takes him to 36 years old. And he wouldn’t have had Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid in his top four for at least the next two seasons.

The Bruins win, too, because even if Seidenberg loses a step that $4 million cap hit is beyond manageable. They can sign Boychuck and MacQuaid – both UFAs in 2015 – and maintain what is the best top four in the Eastern Conference, and the lynchpin of Claude Julien’s system.

It's a Thursday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Star:We shall speak with Brad May about Patrick Roy and the Sabres.

• A bit more on the fighting debate.

• Pominville gets paid.

• The streakin' Leafs.

• News and notes from around the NHL.

Question of the Day: If all 30 coaches competed in a 30-man Battle Royale, who would win and why? Email at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or hit us on Twitter with the hashtag #MvsW to @wyshynski or@jeffmarek.

Welp, now it’s done: Five years and $28 million for Pominville, an average cap hit of $5.6 million, according to Michael Russo. Pominville, who could have been a free agent next summer, remains the fourth-highest paid forward on the Wild behind Zach Parise ($7.538M cap hit), Dany Heatley ($7.5M) and Mikko Koivu ($6.75M).

He’s 30 years old and a consistent presence on the wing: You’re going to get an average of about 0.70-0.80 points per game and a forward that skates top six minutes (north of 20 minutes last season). He’s been a captain before with the Buffalo Sabres, and obviously fills a top line role with friend Zach Parise with the Wild.

Bolland scored his first two goals as a Leaf, leading Toronto to a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers and a 2-0 start to the season. Joffrey Lupul probably deserves half of this star, deftly setting up Bolland on both of his short-range goals.

No. 2 Star: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

This unassisted backhand goal by Datsyuk in the first period ended up being the game-winner, as the Red Wings defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1.

The top overall pick last summer had an impressive debut, setting up both of Jamie McGinn’s goals with primary assists and stepping up to take on Ben Lovejoy in the second period. The Avs defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 6-1, in Patrick Roy’s debut as head coach.

Honorable mention: Jimmy Howard made 19 saves in the Wings’ win, while Ryan Miller made 34 saves in the loss. … Zemgus Girgensons scored his first NHL goal. … Phil Kessel scored his first of the

Late in the Colorado Avalanche’s 6-1 dismantling of the Anaheim Ducks, rookie Nathan MacKinnon was hit by Ben Lovejoy of the Ducks.

It was a dirty hit – seemingly knee-on-knee.

Avalanche rookie coach Patrick Roy let his displeasure about the incident known to Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, in what's already the wildest scene of the young NHL season:

Yes, that’s cool and collected Coach Roy shoving the glass partition at Boudreau twice, as the two pointed fingers and threatened each other. Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon then shoved it back at Roy, who was ushered away by his assistant coaches before a full-on bench brawl began.

"That was a knee-to-knee hit, and should have been a penalty in my opinion. When it's 6-0, this game doesn't need that kind of cheap shot. After that, there was some talk from coaches I guess," Roy said. "What should I do? He put his fourth line on the ice, and I'm not

Dallas Eakins made his regular-season debut as the Edmonton Oilers coach on Tuesday night, and it was an unforgettable one.

Not because of anything the Oilers did on the ice – blowing a lead in the third period, losing to the Winnipeg Jets – but because Eakins wore one of the single most garish ties that has ever graced the neck of an NHL rookie coach.

Via @skrosney

It was a collage of jungle animals, overlapping with one another like a child’s puzzle with scattered pieces. Giraffe, monkey, elephant, a giant tiger head and a panther crawling around it, with a rhino and a zebra underneath.

It was the kind of tie that dangles on a rack unsold at a zoo gift shop for $59.99. It was the kind of tie that Don Cherry would look at and say, “It’s a little much.”

But it wasn’t too much for the late Roger Neilson, who was known to rock a garish tie in his storied Hall of Fame coaching career.

Neilson, who died of bone cancer in 2003, was a mentor to Eakins. OK, more than a mentor – a second

Getty ImagesSteve Yzerman the team executive should probably have a conversation with Steve Yzerman the player.

When No. 19 was scoring boatloads of points with the Detroit Red Wings, he acknowledged and respected the role that a guy like the late Bob Probert played in the NHL. “He certainly kept everybody honest. Everybody, for the most part, just stuck to hockey when Proby was on the ice,” said Yzerman around the time of Probert’s funeral in 2010.

Now, granted, a lot’s happened since Yzerman’s playing days, and even since 2010. We’re in an era of player safety and concussion awareness, and era where Probert-types aren’t even seen on a majority of rosters anymore.

The times have changed, and Yzerman’s apparently changed with them. The GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning told Darren Dreger of TSN that it’s time to harshly crack down on fighting in the League.

"Yes, I believe a player should get a game misconduct for fighting," Yzerman told The Dreger Report. "We penalize and suspend players for making contact with the head while checking, in an effort to reduce head injuries, yet we still allow fighting.

"We're stuck in the middle and need to decide what kind of sport do we want to be. Either anything goes and we accept the consequences, or take the next step and eliminate fighting."